Soon, the last entry will be made into LX-N 90449’s logbook and it will close, forever. Aircraft 449 is about to make history, becoming the first NATO E-3A to officially retire, scheduled to leave the E-3A Component on June 23, 2015.

Lt. Col. Gerald Probst, Deputy Logistics Wing (LW) Commander and Main Operating Base’s (MOB) project officer for the Retirement Aircraft 449 Project explains, “The fleet reduction was decided by the NAPMO nations and the main reason why aircraft 449 was selected to retire was a Depot Level Maintenance (DLM) inspection scheduled for mid-July 2015. DLM is performed on a six-year cycle and costs roughly 15 million Euros. Not performing this inspection means that the aircraft is no longer allowed to fly.”

A Nato E-3A, Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AWACS), arrives at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base where it will be stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), also known as 'The Boneyard'.